Jay Gatsby's Green Light by Sydney

Jay Gatsby's Green Light by Sydney - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

When I was around eleven years old, my older sister was taking a gap year between her graduation from high school and her enrollment in college. She decided to devote much of her newly-found free time to reading books she had always heard about, but never actually read. Being the curious little girl that I was, I secretly read all of the books, too. It may not have been the best age to be exposed to the work of Steinbeck, Hemingway, or Salinger, but I think it had a lot of influence on who I am today. One of the first of these books was F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." The little novel, more of a pamphlet than a volume, caught me like none of the other books did. I enjoyed the other works, but they didn't hold me like this one. I felt the message keenly, and if a book can hit home with a child that's just reading to kill time...well, that book is something special. Fortunately, many people agree with me, so most high school students actually do read it before they graduate, whether they are required to or not.

People always talk about how the green light across the bay represents Daisy, Gatsby's longing for her, and the distance between them. While I understand and appreciate the importance of that metaphor and agree with it on some level, I also have an alternate interpretation of the significance of the light. My personal opinion of the light is a little different and, perhaps, a little more relevant to high school kids like myself. When we think "green light," what is the immediate association? Well, for me, it's "green light means go," the traffic rule that most of us have been taught from a very early age. When we get a green light in life, we're supposed to go, move forward on the road to our destination. Gatsby's mistake was ignoring his green light and waiting for a chance to get Daisy back. As a result of his stalling, he never got a chance for anything ever again. "The Great Gatsby" is a warning of sorts, cautioning its readers not to wait around as life goes on around around you. You just might get run over.

I think it's also important that high school students learn the dangers of letting another person's existence define them. Gatsby let Daisy define him and ignored everything else. A lot of high school kids are like that. They let a crush absorb them. Honestly, the similarity between Gatsby and some highschoolers is a little shocking at times. Lots of people throw parties in hopes that one particular person will happen to show up. However, this kind of mindset is harmful. If someone lets his feelings for another drown out his individuality, he is not free to pursue his own path. After highschool, we choose our destination and embark on the journey, and I think it's vital that we make the decision ourselves without influence from someone who may very well not care about us.

There may be better-written books, more interesting books, "deeper" books, but "The Great Gatsby" deals with issues very pertinent to teenagers and the decisions they face in a most effective way that no other book I have ever read does. To be honest, sometimes I get a little frustrated when my favorite books are so mainstream, because it seems to detract from their significance. With "The Great Gatsby," however, I feel so strongly about the content that I am truly glad it's such a popular novel. It makes me happy that so many people have heard the story and messages that have touched me so deeply for so long.